Millennials are buying homes later in life because of student loan debt and low-wage jobs

They are increasingly ethnically diverse, more educated and less likely to be married — all factors that make them less likely to own a home, said a new report released Wednesday by Trulia, the online real estate firm.

After adjusting for these population changes, younger Americans are actually buying homes at the same rate as they did during the late-1990s.

'For at least the past 20 years, there have been significant demographic headwinds for homeownership for young people,' said Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia.

The analysis suggests that the recession — for all its damage to the economy — did little to turn off millennials from the idea of owning a home compared to previous generations.

In fact, the report shows that the major group whose ownership rates suffered because of the downturn is middle-aged